RESURRECTION BIBLE STUDY

Where did the word Easter come from? Well, the word itself comes from a prehistoric (times preceding written history) West Germanic name of a pagan (country dweller, heathen, or irreligious person) spring festival akin to the Old English word eastre, a form of the word east. The Latin meaning of the word east is aurora or dawn, which is a fitting description of spring.

Tsk tsk ... They are always trying to conceal the TRUTH of Jesus. They have even hidden the Resurrection of Jesus behind a rabbit that delivers eggs and hides them about. Just as they did with the birth of Jesus by hiding the TRUTH behind a fat man in a red suit that delivers toys. It too was a myth that sprung forth from Germany.

Now, here’s a little footnote to go along with that. Easter is always observed on the first Sunday after the full moon, on or next after the vernal (spring) equinox. What is equinox? Either of the two times each year (spring and fall) when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are everywhere of equal length. So, in case you ever wondered why Easter is sometimes in March and sometimes in April, now you know. It would be next to impossible to figure out exactly when Easter really is because of how many times the calendar has changed since then, as well as converting the dates from the 360 day Hebrew year to the 365 day Gregorian year, etc., etc., etc. Not only that, but Passover and Easter aren’t at the same time each year in our modern time, so that should give you a pretty good idea of how far off things really are.

Now, you’ll find some extremists who’ll want to nudge your conscience and try to make you feel like you’re doing wrong by celebrating Easter at all because, after all, it is the name of a pagan holiday, many are celebrating the arrival of a silly rabbit and we really don't even know the TRUE date of the Resurrection of our Lord with all the changes ... This is satan's intent. To get us to lose sight of the TRUTH of this most AWESOME day. Just remember that our Father judges the HEART of a matter. It is not WHAT you do but WHY you do. So Celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus in your heart ... EVERY DAY. This act will spoil the intent of the enemy, while honoring our Lord.

Okay, let’s get on with our study. We ended with our Lord being crucified and committing His spirit into the hands of God with His last dying breath. There was a man named Joseph who was of Arimathea, which was a city of the Jewish people. He was a rich man, an honorable counselor, who didn’t agree with the counsel of those who persecuted Jesus. Secretly, for fear of the Jewish people, he was a disciple of Jesus’ and he believed and waited for the Kingdom of God. When evening came, Joseph came to Pilate and asked if he could take away the body of Jesus to prepare for the tomb. Pilate wondered if Jesus was already dead, and called the centurion to ask him. When he found out, he gave Joseph permission and Joseph took the body of Jesus down from the Cross.

Joseph bought fine linen for Jesus' burial and Nicodemus (the ruler who at first came to Jesus by night and Jesus told him about being born again) also came and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes. In the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden with a new sepulchre of stone, where no man had ever been laid to rest. It is written in Isaiah 53:9 that Jesus would be buried among the rich. Because the Sabbath was drawing close, and the tomb was nearby, they buried Jesus there, wrapped in the linen, with the spices, according to the custom of the Jewish people. Then they rolled a great stone over the cave opening, creating a seal for the tomb.

Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses, sat nearby and witnessed where Jesus was buried. Then they left and prepared spices and ointments, and rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

The next day, the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate and said, Sir, we remember what that deceiver said, while He was still alive, After three days I will rise again. Order that the sepulchre be guarded until the third day, in case His disciples come at night and steal Him away, and tell the people, He’s risen from the dead, so the last error shall be worse than the first. (What they were saying was that if Jesus arose from the dead it would be worse than the blasphemy they accused Him of.) Pilate allowed them, saying, Go your way, make it as secure as you can. So they went and made the sepulchre secure, sealing the stone, and setting guards to watch.

Before dawn, on the morning of the first day of the week, there was a great earthquake, and the angel of the Lord descended from Heaven, and rolled back the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb and sat on top of it. His appearance was like lightning, and His clothes as white as snow. For fear of him, the guards were shaken, and became as dead men.

Meanwhile, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, with certain other women, brought the sweet spices that they prepared so they might anoint Jesus. At dawn they neared the tomb asking among themselves, Who will roll away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? When they looked, they saw that the stone had already been rolled away. Mary Magdalene ran and came to Peter and John, and said, They’ve taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we don’t know where they’ve taken Him!

Peter and John ran together and John came first to the sepulchre. He stooped down and looking in, he saw the linen clothes, but he didn’t enter the tomb. Then Peter came following and went inside, and saw the linen clothes, and the napkin that was around Jesus’ head wasn’t with the other linen, but wrapped up in a separate place. Then John went in, and he saw and believed, but still, they didn’t understand the scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.

Peter and John left and went back to their home, but Mary Magdalene stood outside the sepulchre crying, and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the tomb and saw two angels in white, one sitting at the head and the other at the feet of where the body of Jesus had been. They said to her, Woman, why are you crying? Mary answered, Because they’ve taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they’ve taken Him.

The angels said, I know that you’re looking for Jesus, who was crucified. Why do you look for the living among the dead? See, the place where they laid Him, He’s not here, but is risen.

Jesus had risen from the dead just as He had predicted to his Apostles.

Back to the story ...

Then Mary turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn’t know it was Jesus. He said to her, Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for? Mary, thinking that He was the gardener, said to Him, Sir, if you’ve taken Him from here, tell me where you’ve laid Him and I’ll take Him away.

Jesus said to her, Mary. She then realized that it was Jesus and said to Him, Master! Jesus said, Don’t touch me, because I have not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren, and tell them, I ascend to my Father and your Father and to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene left quickly with the others in fear and great joy, and ran to tell the disciples.

As the women went to tell the disciples that Jesus was risen from the dead, He met them saying, All hail. And they came and held Him by the feet and worshipped Him. Then Jesus said, Don’t be afraid, go tell my brethren to go into Galilee and they’ll see me there.

While they were on their way, the guards of the tomb came into the city and told the chief priests what had happened. They met with the elders, and decided to pay the solder’s much money to say that Jesus’ disciples came in the middle of the night and stole Him away while they slept. They told the guards that if the governor heard about it, they’d convince him of their story and they’d be safe. So they took the money and did what they were told, and this lie is still told among the Jewish people to this very day.

So, Mary Magdalene, the woman who Jesus cast seven devils out of, was the first person Jesus appeared to after His resurrection, and she went and told the Apostles that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her. Imagine the joy of that day!

I want to take this time to remind you that when a story is told by many different sources, that you may find a few differences. This is the case with the Gospels. Each Gospel is a little different from the other but ALL confirm the TRUTH ...

Jesus came to knowingly die for our sins. God used the Jewish tradition of Passover. Jesus was brought in as the Sacrificial Lamb, just as it was with the Jewish tradition. Jesus was slaughtered just as the Passover Lamb was to be and after 3 days and 3 nights. Jesus rose from the dead.

Our Resurrection Bible study on the Resurrection Bible story reveals that the Passover prophecy reveals the undeniable truth that Jesus is Lord.